NEW YORK (Reuters) — US retailers reported weaker-than-forecast April sales yesterday after cold, stormy weather and an earlier Easter holiday sapped demand for spring items, prompting some to cut their first-quarter forecasts.The poor results came after the shift in the Easter holiday to April 8 this year from April 16 last year pulled sales into March. Retailers also faced a tough comparison to last April, when record warmth drove sales of spring merchandise like dresses and shorts.

While 80 percent of retailers — including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., AnnTaylor Stores Inc., Gap Inc. and Federated Stores — reported April same-store sales missed expectations, Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics Inc. said a number indicated that sales improved as the weather warmed in the end of the month and May is off to a decent start.

"I don't think it (April sales) spells the death knell of the consumer, or that retailers are headed for some kind of a big-time slowdown in their (same-store sales) going forward. You have to take it in conjunction with the March sales," he said of the results.

Analysts and investors have been watching retail sales closely to see how consumer spending, which accounts for roughly two-thirds of national economic activity, holds up in the face of rising gasoline prices and a slowing housing market.

The Standard & Poor's Retail Index rose 0.5 percent in morning trading.

Last month marked the coldest April in 10 years, according to weather tracking firm Planalytics, and was punctuated by a storm that soaked much of the US East Coast and snow storms in parts of the Midwest.

The wicked weather curtailed demand for warm-weather gear, prompting some retailers to issue warnings ahead of the sales results yesterday.

Target Corp. said last month that its April sales at established stores would be "much weaker" than its forecast of a decline of 2 percent to 4 percent, while Wal-Mart said that meeting its first-quarter earnings forecast of 68 cents to 71 cents per share from continuing operations would be a challenge.

Yesterday Target reported a 6.1 percent drop in April same-store sales, saying it was hurt by a sales shortfall in the first two weeks of the month. But it said it remains on track to achieve its "overall financial expectations in 2007".

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, reported a sharper-than-expected 3.5 percent decline in its US April same-store sales, blaming both weather and the timing of Easter.

April same-store sales fell 4.6 percent at its Wal-Mart stores, while they rose 2.5 percent at Sam's Club.

The retailer said sales in its apparel and home categories at Wal-Mart stores were soft, as the cold weather crimped traffic and hurt sales of seasonal merchandise.

Retailers including Children's Place, Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. and New York & Co. Inc. cut their first-quarter earnings forecasts after reporting weak April sales.

Children's Place cited lower-than-planned April sales, higher markdowns and unfavourable weather as reasons its first-quarter earnings would be below its expectations.

Limited Brands Inc. said its sales at stores open at least a year fell 1 percent in April, while analysts had expected the company to post a same-store sales gain of 1.2 percent.

Federated, the parent of Macy's and Bloomingdale's, reported a 2.2 percent fall in April sales at stores open at least one full fiscal year, as a promotion did not produce desired results.

But in a positive note, Costco Wholesale Corp. reported a better-than-expected 7 percent rise in April sales at stores open at least a year, helped by a calendar shift that resulted in an extra day of sales over the four-week period.